Management of Adhesive Small Bowel Obstruction Using Gastrografin - A Prospective Study

Background: Adhesions are the most common cause of small bowel obstruction (SBO), especially in patients with a history of previous abdominal surgery1. In fact, any patient who undergoes abdominal surgery, that involves opening of the peritoneal cavity, will have an increased lifetime risk for formation of adhesions which may cause bowel obstruction at any point in time. Methods: This prospective open randomized controlled clinical trial study was conducted on 100 patients suffering from adhesive small bowel obstruction with history of previous abdominal surgeries. The Institutional Ethical Clearance was obtained and patients were included in the study after obtaining informed written consent from each patient. Results: This prospective open randomized controlled clinical trial study was conducted on 100 patients suffering from adhesive small bowel obstruction with history of previous abdominal surgeries. These patients were randomly divided into two equal groups. Group A (n=50) received gastrografin and Group B (n=50) were treated conventionally without gastrografin. Conclusion: From our results, we can conclude that Gastrografin is safe and it can be used therapeutically in resolution of ASBO. Clinical and radiological evidences help in identifying the patients who can be treated conservatively.